When British Honors Meet Black Arts, Sonia Boyce Rewrites the Royal Script
A damehood isn’t just a title—it’s a twist in the story of British art. Sonia Boyce, who first made waves in the 1980s as a key voice in the British Black arts movement, now holds one of the U.K.’s highest honors. Her journey from London’s creative underground to the global stage is marked by a string of royal recognitions, from MBE to OBE, and now Dame Commander.
Boyce’s art, spanning film, sound, and installation, is a pointed conversation with Britain’s cultural identity, challenging what’s seen and who gets seen. In 2022, she became the first Black woman to represent Britain at the Venice Biennale—her installation, Feeling Her Way, clinched the Golden Lion and is set to tour Canada this year. With upcoming shows in Montreal, Toronto, Bergamo, and London, Boyce’s work keeps crossing borders and breaking molds.
From the Tate to the Centre Pompidou, her art now lives in the world’s top collections—a reminder that sometimes, the establishment’s highest honors go to those who dare to question it.
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